San Diego Mission Trip: Day Two Debrief

Tuesday morning began bright and early at Bridge of Hope, a nonprofit organization that helps fill the needs of people in transition. By gathering information from the refugees on how many people are in their families and their ages, Bridge of Hope helps select home items, food, and clothing for each family to help them get started. Hosting events every week, Bridge of Hope also opens their stocked up rooms to the refugee community to allow them to gather the food and clothing that they need for the upcoming weeks.

How can they afford to run this business though?

They actually can't. "Bridge of Hope was started and continues to be fueled by the Holy Spirit. Supported and funded by private donors. Faithful and committed volunteers carry the vision, and do the work that makes a bridge of hope." said Sheri, the founder of the organization. Through people willing to give up used home items. clothes, or donations of money, Bridge of Hope has been able to run on entirely on those people, prayers, and faith that God will take care of their needs.  

For us, our jobs consisted of anything from unloading furniture donations to stocking fridges with fruits and vegetables. And for four hours, we worked diligently to get the job done. 

After we headed back for lunch, we were already gearing up to do more. Our next stop was out into the neighborhoods of San Diego, where we taught at a Kid's Club for an hour and a half. Hanging out with kids of all ages, we played games, taught bible stories, helped them with their literacy, and completed a cool craft. The kids were pretty crazy; But their energy and happiness was contagious, and we easily caught onto their excitement. 

And after many hours of hard work and building relationships, we finally made it to our last ministry activity of the day- Love 'Em Up. 

Love 'Em Up is a program for special needs adults in which they are welcome to come to church Tuesday nights so that they can worship freely and hear about God. For most of us, Love 'Em Up was our favorite part of the day. Between the Congo lines during worship and the piano songs that our new friend Bruce played, our night spent with these amazing people was not wasted.